Painful exit for Kenya's 400m hurdlers at Kasarani

Kenya’s Leah Jeruto might have ran a personal best of 1:01.11 in the girls’ 400m hurdles in the IAAF World Under-18 Championship at the Moi International Sports Centre Stadium, Kasarani on Thursday, but it was not enough to get her into the semi-finals.

Jeruto finished third in heat two to exit the competition in round one. It was also despair for Kenya’s other athlete in the event, Irene Akinyi as she finished last in the third and final heat ending the country's participation in the competition.

Jeruto’s heat was won by South Africa’s Zeney Van Der Walt in 59:60 while Sanique Walker of Jamiaca reigned in Heat 3 after clocking 58:74. Kenya also fared badly in the boys’ 110m hurdles as the country’s sole representative Peter Wambua finished last in heat four. Wambua timed 14:86 in the race won by Qatari Saoud Al-Humaidi, who finished in 13:72.

Jeruto, a form two student at Kapsait Secondary School, was unlucky to miss out on the semis as one of the fastest qualifiers. She vowed to continue training hard and promised to return back stronger next time.

“It was a nice experience competing at this stage and I gave my all despite failing to reach the next stage. I know what I have to do to make it to the top and I will keep training hard,” Jeruto, who now wants to scale up to 800m, said.

Akinyi on the other hand blamed her dismal display on stage fright.

“I had a lot of tension when I started and that affected my whole plan. It is sad to go out this way but I have learnt a lot," she said. Akinyi timed 1:04.31.